Remember Me
by Im.Just.Like.Me
Summary: Grant Ward was a lot of things: a specialist, a loner, an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, a mole for HYDRA. But before he was all of that he was just a kid in the woods who met a girl that could have changed his life if he let her. Now that she is back in his life he doesn't know exactly what he is anymore but he does know he'll never be the same. SkyeWard. The gang's all here!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all!  
>My name is Kay and this is my first Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. story!<br>Welcome, I have written for HSM in the past, but more recently did a PLL story that I finished not long ago. I got addicte to Agents and watched the first season plus caught up to the second season in like a week and this idea came into my head and I simply coul not let it go.**

**So here is my new story Remember Me's summary:  
><strong>Grant Ward was a lot of things: a specialist, the 'whole solution,' a loner, an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a mole for HYDRA. But before he was all of that he was just a kid in the woods who met a girl that could have changed his life if he let her. Now that she is back in his life he doesn't know exactly what he is anymore but he does know he'll never be the same. SkyeWard. The gang's all here!

**FYI: _  
><em>**_italics_ _are flashbacks, _-:-:- means scene change, time change, etc and yes I watched the first ep again to get some lines for the middle.

**Enjoy! Tell me what you think. **  
><strong>I worked really hard on getting the personalities right!<strong>  
><strong>I always take into account what my reviewers thing so if you have a suggestiontip review it please.**

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><p><em>"Put it back," a deep male voice mumbled directly into her ear.<em>

_Skye jumped at the closeness of the man behind her and was about to turn around to tell him off when the box of pop tarts hidden in her jacket fell to the floor with a loud thud._

_She turned, wide-eyed, the feeling she was caught filling her. "I- I," she stammered to the boy who looked to be around her age in a red baseball cap that hid his face from view. "I wasn't-"_

_"Stealing them?" the boy finished her sentence. "Yeah, you were. Now," he began and picked up the box as he did. "If you're going to steal, know your limits. This box is too big and is hard to hide in the clothes you're wearing."_

_"Excuse me?" Skye questioned and almost laughed. "Are you really giving me thief tips right now?"_

_"Look, I just saved you," he replied harshly. "Look over my shoulder," he ordered, turning to lean against the aisle shelves next to her. "Do you see him? The manager."_

_Skye's eyes slipped over his shoulder to find an overly plump man with too-tight pants and a blue dress shirt with a red tie eyeing her up suspiciously._

_"He's been following you for over five minutes now. He was about to come take that box of pop tarts out of your jacket and bust you," he told her. "Another thing to remember, know your surroundings. Find those who work wherever you're stealing from and watch out for them, alright?"_

_"So why did you stop him?" she asked breathlessly._

_"Just follow my lead and we'll both get what we want, alright?" he responded._

_Before she could answer he had his hand in hers and she was trailing behind him down the aisle towards the manager._

_"Trying to hide pop tarts from me again, babe?" he asked in a bout of laughter. "I told you that now we're living together I am going to show you what a real breakfast is. No more of the pop tarts every morning, it's becoming an addiction for her, I swear," he said to the manager as they walked by._

_Skye rolled her eyes dramatically for effect. "Pop tarts are an essential food group, babe!" she insisted loudly with an over pronounced frown._

_"I'll show you what the real essential good groups are. Here, let's get a basket and do some shopping," he said with such a beautiful smile she almost thought it was real._

_He was an expert thief, at least compared to her. She watched as he expertly maneuvered food into his pockets (he had so many!) as well as her own. He did it all while keeping up the charade that they were a couple and making cutesy small talk._

_"Dig through your bag for something," he mumbled over minutes later._

_Skye didn't question him and did as she was told. As she did so his arms wrapped around her from behind and he snuck more food into her purse._

_Once he was done he led her to the meat section. "Alright, what do you say for dinner tonight? Burgers or dogs?" he asked that smile back on his face._

_"It's been so long since I've had a really good burger," Skye practically moaned as her empty stomach almost collapsed in on its self at the thought._

_He chuckled. "Burgers it is then, babe."_

_Twenty minutes later they exited the grocery store hand in hand, bags hanging off their free hands. Imagine her surprise when they went up the register and he actually bought more than thirty dollars' worth of food not including what they stole._

_Skye led him to her van parked a street over. "Thank you."_

_He shrugged and opened the side door before taking the bag out of her hand and then began to empty out his pockets as she did the same with hers._

_"This is quite the haul we got here," she said to spark some sort of conversation._

_"Which do you want?" he replied, gesturing to the two 2 liters he actually bought._

_"You bought them, I mean-"_

_"Just pick one," he barked and she pointed. He nodded and continued to assemble a pile for each one of them. "Do you have any way to cook or store meat?" he wondered a silent minute later._

_"Um, no, not really," she told him, not wanting to make a fuss over his bad attitude when he did buy and help steal food with her._

_"So I guess it was true about that burger, huh?" he said once he was finished, an overly full bag hanging off his hand._

_Skype nodded. "Yeah, thanks again. I, uh, never got your name," she said awkwardly._

_"You can call me Ward - and don't thank me. What we did in there was mutually beneficial. You were a good cover and was able to get some good stuff with your help and bag," he told her._

_She nodded again. "Okay. I'm Skype and it was no problem. I don't normally steal, but I haven't eaten in days. We should do this again sometime," she teased, but he actually nodded in agreement. "Well, I am starving so..."_

_"Yeah, you look it," he commented in a laugh._

_"What does that mean?" she asked, taken aback._

_Ward chuckled. "Don't take offense. Look, I don't normally do this, but you look like you could use that burger you were salivating over and I don't want to walk all the way back to my campsite with this heavy bag. It will probably break," he insisted. "Would you mind driving me back if I made it for you?"_

_"First of all, I was not salivating over it-" she stopped under his intense gaze. "You would do that for me?"_

_He shrugged. "It's not a big deal but this is a onetime offer, Skye, and you only have ten seconds to agree or I'm finding another way back."_

_"Yeah, okay, Mr. Impatient, geez," she answered. "Under one condition - you don't kill me or hurt me or anything," she insisted._

_Ward chuckled at her again. "We have a deal. Like I said, you're mutually beneficial to me."_

-:-:-

"Did you get her?" Agent Grant Ward questioned as he met Coulson in the Command Center in the middle-level of the bus.

"Yeah, how's your head?" Coulson responded with a knowing grin.

"May did not knock me out. I was working out on an empty stomach. I fainted," Ward told him adamantly.

Coulson nodded, trying not to smile. "Still, I think it was a good idea to send May out on this one. Did you eat after your little fainting spell?" he wondered casually.

"Yes, now can you tell me what happened, Sir?" he replied in a sigh.

"Nothing. It was a grab and go. We put her in holding for now, but I doubt she'll be trouble without a computer at her fingertips. We've removed the blindfold but she hasn't talked yet," Coulson informed him.

"It's refreshing," Agent May said, walking into the Command Center to join them. "All she did was jabber on the way here. How's your head?" she asked Ward.

"Is that her file?" Ward asked in response, ignoring her obvious dig.

May nodded. "Yeah, but we don't have much on her. She hasn't come up in any databases, no family history or record to speak of, but that could just mean she hasn't been caught yet. All we have is her first name and that she works for Rising Tide."

"It's Skye, right?" Coulson asked.

Ward's eyes widened. "Skye?" he repeated, snatching the file out of his boss's hand.

"Do you know her?" Coulson questioned, intrigued.

Ward didn't answer as his eyes glued themselves to the picture they just took of her for the file. It was Skye, his Skye. He smiled slightly, almost startling May and Coulson who had never seen a real smile on the man's face before.

-:-:-

_"Oh. My. God," Skye moaned as she took another bite of her burger. "This is the best burger I have ever had."_

_Ward laughed into his beer bottle. "Thank you. After a while you learn how to perfect it."_

_"You definitely did that," she agreed before taking another big bite. "So, do you like live here permanently? Or are you a drifter that goes from town to town luring pretty girls into your makeshift campsite to kill and then make into burger meat?" she wondered casually while eating a bag of chips._

_"Makeshift? Is that what you think this place is, makeshift? I'll have you know it took me two years to get it the way I like it, so yes, it is permanent. For now, I guess," he mumbled into the neck of his beer._

_"So you call for now just a few years? What do you consider a long-term commitment, twenty? I think you might have some relationship issues, buddy," she said and the dog sitting at Ward's side perked up. "Not you!" she said in a baby-voice before throwing him a chip. "Are you even old enough to drink beer?"_

_Ward sighed. "You're getting to that annoying point where I regret asking you to come here and I am seriously considering making you leave."_

_Skye rolled her eyes. "You're lucky you're a good cook."_

_"And no, I'm not old enough to drink beer, I still have six months until twenty-one. Then again you don't have much to point fingers at coming from a girl who lives in a van," he replied._

_"I'll have you know I love my van. It's my home," Skye said stiffly, grabbing a beer from Ward's six pack._

_He nodded. "That's what this place is to me. I got a place to sleep, a lake to clean up in, something that resembles a kitchen, and usually I have food in my belly. I don't have much to complain about."_

_"Not even that you're lonely?" Skye whispered, petting behind Buddy's ears when he settled against her leg, probably wanting more food._

_"I got a friend that visits, besides I don't do well around people," he replied. "You've asked me enough questions. What's your story, why do you live in a van?"_

_Skye shrugged. "I turned eighteen, got kicked out of the foster system, dropped out of school, and hit the road with all I had and the keys to a friend's old, rusted van he wanted off his hands," she answered. "I wanted to disappear, it wasn't that hard, I mean, I was never very visible to begin with."_

_Ward's eyes looked her up and down. "I doubt that's true."_

_"Don't be an ass," she replied hotly. "How did you come to live in the woods anyways?"_

_"I told you I have a friend, he saved me from hell and took me here. I live on my own, by my rules, avoid people, and he makes himself known every few months to help me train and become a man. In turn I stay loyal to him and so I stay here. It doesn't matter much to me, I like it here, and I love Buddy. I like being self-reliant," he told her._

_"To help you train? What are you training for?" she wondered, leaning forward in intrigue._

_Ward leaned forward too. "The end of the world," he said quietly causing her eyes to go wide before he burst out laughing._

_"You're a jerk!" she whined, leaning back with her arms crossed over her chest._

_"Lesson number two, don't be so gullible," he told her with a wink._

_"Oh, and so lesson number one was how to steal?" she questioned._

_He nodded. "That it was. At least now I don't have to worry about you starving to death."_

_"So you worry about me already? Aw, Ward, that's cute," Skye cooed and he rolled his eyes. "But I think this is getting too serious, I mean, we just met and the kind of commitment you're looking for- hey don't throw things at me!" she laughed, holding his bottle cap in her hand._

_"I don't worry but you are a tiny girl with probably no muscle mass, no diploma, and no home for means to get a job. I can see a bad situation when I see it. I like to help out when I can. I'm not a soulless bastard," he told her honestly._

_"I'm not that tiny and you're not in the best situation either. You live in the woods," she reminded him._

_"I could leave, but I don't," he replied simply._

_"Why don't you get a job?" she countered._

_He took in a deep breath. "I'm not the suit and tie type, not now at least. I tend to be self-sufficient, I only steal when I need to," he told her._

_"Me too," Skye whispered._

_Ward stared at her for a long time as she looked off into the distance, a sad look in her eyes. "You're a good person, I see that, don't be so hard on yourself."_

_"Thanks," she replied. "You are too, I mean, you're not a soulless bastard, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she teased._

_Ward smiled. "Thanks, I wouldn't want to ruin my reputation."_

-:-:-

"Ward," Coulson broke him from his memory. "Do you know her?"

He nodded. "I did, for a while."

"What do you know about her?" May questioned.

He shook his head and tore his eyes away from her picture. "Nothing much more than in her file. Her names Skye, no last name; high school dropout, child of the foster system, she had a knack for computers before, but I'm guessing she's had training since I saw her last," he stated robotically.

"When did you see her last?" Coulson asked.

"About eight years, I think," he answered. "Can I talk to her?"

Coulson and May looked at each other. "You might get more out of her than we will. We'll send you in," Coulson said and tuned on the monitor in front of them.

There was his Skye, bring as nosy as ever, checking out the walls, looking for cameras, even under the table.

"Look- I don't like talking about my past. I'm sure that was in my file in some sort of form. The same goes with Skye; I don't like talking about her. Could I have ten minutes alone with her? No camera, no recording, just me and her. If I can get to her, really get through to her, I'd do it best without you guys watching, at least in the beginning," he admitted.

Coulson sighed. "Wouldn't hurt. Just don't let her go and you have yourself a deal. Ten minutes, then the cameras come on."

"I have your word?" Ward questioned.

Coulson nodded. "You do. Trust goes both ways, Ward, remember that," he commented as the specialist walked out of the room.

Ward hesitated by the door. He had ten minutes to get Skye to agree to talk about the Rising Tide and not talk about their past together. But damn, was he excited to see her.

"So you finally decided I'm worth your time?" her voice rang through as soon as he opened the door.

"And here I heard you've been quiet since you entered the craft," he replied, the smile she always brought out of him planted on his face.

Skye turned, shocked. "Grant?" She stood and launched herself into his arms. "Oh, my God, Grant! I never thought I'd see you again!" she exclaimed, burying herself in his neck.

Ward easily held her in his arms. She was the same old Skye, tiny, no muscle mass, and still getting herself into trouble.

"I thought the same. Wanna tell me what you're doing getting mixed up with the Rising Tide?" he questioned.

Skye pulled away. "Don't tell me you're part of S.H.I.E.L.D.," she pleaded. Grant shrugged. "I thought you weren't the suit and tie type!" she laughed.

"I was twenty, what did I know? It's a job that utilizes my skills. Besides, we both know I have a weak spot for helping people," he reminded her with a wink.

"Same old Grant Ward," Skye sighed. "Although last time I saw you-"

"Let's not go there, yeah?" he suggested, bringing her to sit at the table. "I'd actually prefer if you wouldn't tell anyone about our past, okay?"

"You really don't want them to know we were friends, that we-"

"Yes, I would like that to remain between us," Ward cut her off.

Skye nodded. "You really haven't changed, Grant. So, what can I do for you, Agent Ward?" she questioned.

"Don't be like that, Skye, you're involved with some scary stuff. I'm trying to protect you, just like I've always done. These people I work with, they may have a nice code and be the good guys, but they can have some bad behaviors. I'm trying to keep you safe and you know that is true," he insisted.

"Maybe. But people have the right to know what is out there, Grant! I mean, the Avengers, the Battle of New York, what happened in New Mexico, these are things that shouldn't be hidden," she told him. "They have a right to know and if you weren't wearing that suit and tie you know you'd agree with me."

"Maybe," he repeated. "But I am wearing it and underneath it I am still the Grant you trusted, you were safe with, so you know I'm only trying to do right by you," he told her.

"Time's up," Coulson entered the room, files in his hands. "Did you get your friend to talk, Agent Ward?"

"He tried," Skye replied, flashing her smile at her old 'friend.' "What can I do for you, Boss Man?" she wondered, batting her eyelashes.

"I need the name of a certain hero you happen to know," Coulson stated, replacing Ward in the chair across from her. "Don't try to deny it, I know it was you. We traced you by your cryptographic signatures. You made a mistake there, Skye."

"Did I?" she replied leaning forward on the table. "Or am I now sitting in the middle of your secret headquarters?" she questioned, looking around as she did. "What is this, a plane?" she asked rhetorically. "The point is I got inside and by now you've discovered you can't crack the encryption on my equipment without me, so you're stuck, aren't ya? You got nothing."

"We have a few coincidences," Coulson replied without missing a beat. "You at the scene of this explosion before it occurred, the video of the so-called hero after, wanna tell me how that happened? Or did you blow it up to draw him out?"

"She's not the type of person to do that, Sir," Ward spoke up from his spot against the wall.

"Ward," Coulson warned without looking away from Skye.

"No, I didn't, did you?" Skye answered, ignoring Ward.

"That's not our style," Coulson told her.

"Really? I was just kidnapped by your style, _Sir_," she replied. "Forgive me if I don't believe you. S.H.I.E.L.D covered up New Mexico, Project Pegasus, of course they are covering up Centipede too."

Ward pushed off the wall and looked hard at Coulson. Skye knew that look.

"Wait, you don't know what that is? You have billions of dollars of equipment at your disposal and I beat you with a laptop I won on a bet?" she asked and laughed, not being able to help herself.

Coulson shook his head at her. "Listen, you need to think about your friend. We're not the only people looking for people with powers. We'd like to contain him, yeah, but the next guy will want to exploit him and the guy after that will want to dissect him," he told her honestly.

Ward stayed close. "Skye, what is centipede?"

"It was chatted about on the web, then all traces of it were gone," she told him. "I got curious and looked into it. It led me to that building so that is why I was there."

"What were you after, Skye?" Ward asked.

"The truth, Grant, what are you after?" she countered.

"World peace," he replied in a dry tone. "You never think about the consequences of your actions, Skye, you never have. These pseudo-anarchist, hacker types always want to stir things up, but they're never around for the fallout. People keep secrets for a reason, Skye, remember that."

"I will, but just because you're reasonable doesn't mean you're not a faceless government tool bag now," she stated.

"Just give us the guy's name Skye!" Ward insisted, his temper rising.

"He's in danger," Coulson interrupted even though he was enjoying their oncoming fight.

"Then let me talk to him!" Skye plead. "Not the tool bag over here," she said, pointing to Ward.

Ward shook his head. "You would want to be alone with him. What are you, a groupie now? Don't tell me you're one of those slutty cosplay girls hanging around Stark Tower," he insisted.

"What?" Skye grabbed his arm. "I would-" she stopped under his gaze. "One time, a long time ago, shut up," she ordered before he could even try. She never was good at lying to him.

"Ward, out," Coulson said, getting up and leading the agent out of the room. "You're letting her rile you up, get under your skin, are you trying to blow this interrogation?"

"No, Sir, just give me a few more minutes alone with her and you'll have your answer. I know how to get under her skin just as much as she knows how to get under mine," Ward assured him.

"I don't doubt that, but she's an asset, we need her, and I'm sure you know why," Coulson began. "We know nothing about her and you know how unlikely that is? Very. As in it never happens. We need to know what she knows and I think you know that."

"What do you want me to do, Sir?" Ward asked.

"Get her to cooperate. I need your help. Let her know we're not going to lie to her," Coulson said and noted the plane around them was empty. "You have fifteen more minutes with her alone before I'm going to have to use May. Go."

Ward was instantly turned on his heel back towards Skye. That girl would always have the skills to set him on edge.

"Tell us who he is Skye," Ward said, taking off his jacket as he entered the room again.

"Round two, huh? You were never good at resisting," she teased, her feet up on the desk.

Ward ground his teeth. "Do you know how hard you're making this? If I don't get the information out of you he is going to bring in May and she's not the nicest person you want to come into contact with, I think you learned that earlier," he reminded her. "I need you to trust us or me at least. You'll learn to trust them, I know you will."

"You want me to trust you?" Skye questioned, standing. "Tell me why you left me the way you did."

"Short version, you weren't safe with me anymore, I had to send you away to make you safe again. It worked for a while, didn't it?" he answered quickly.

"Do you know how long I looked for you?" she asked, her voice cracking. "I scoured those woods, I had Buddy sniff a shirt of yours thinking that maybe that could help, I took your picture and asked around in the tri-state area, I put you on websites. I did everything I knew how to get you back but you were gone."

Ward nodded. "That was the point. I had to disappear to keep you safe. Those websites were erased, I wasn't seen anywhere near there and eventually you gave up, which is what I wanted," he insisted.

"I never gave up, Grant," she whispered. "And then to find you because you kidnapped me? That just takes the cake," she added on as she wiped her eyes harshly.

"Skye..." he murmured and brushed hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, but everything I did was to keep you safe, which I am trying to do now. Please just help me out on this."

"And then what?" Skye asked, moving away from him. "I pinky promise to quit the Rising Tide? You take my equipment away and we part ways like old friends?" she questioned.

He smiled softly. "I know better than to tell you do anything like that. Take a computer away from you? Yeah, right. We can handle that later; just tell me his name so we can handle this now. Coulson was right, he is going to hurt people, maybe even himself; we need to stop that before it happens. Do you want that on your conscience?"

Skye took in a deep breath and bit her cheek to keep from talking. "If you-"

"We have a new development," Coulson came into the room. "It's on the news, come on," he urged, leading them out of the room and into the Command Center.

"He's hurt someone," Ward stated without even having to look at it.

"More than one actually," Coulson corrected. "So what have you decided, Skye? Are you going to help us?"

Skye couldn't take her eyes off of the screen. "He's- he's not a bad guy, he just needs a break," she whispered sadly.

Coulson nodded in agreement. "Yeah? Then let's give him one."

-:-

Skye looked over her shoulder at the luxurious plane parked behind her that the team called the bus.

It'd been a rocky few days, being kidnapped, seeing Grant, being kidnapped again, helping these people save a very special person while almost getting killed in the process.

When that gun shot went off and she thought Grant killed Mike she felt defeated. All that hard work of trying to get Mike to calm down, to see that Coulson was right, just shut down by one gun shot by someone she used to think the world of. But then she saw it was done by the "night-night" gun (which_ was_ a horrible name for it) and she was so relieved when she saw Grant she couldn't help but jump into his arms.

To her surprise he held her too for a moment before letting her go and ignoring the stares of the others.

"He should be okay," she heard behind her, making her jump. Grant walked up to meet her and looked over at the horizon too. "Just heard from HQ, he's stable and they're seeing what they can do. I thought you might like to know that."

Skye nodded. "I thought you killed him there for a moment, you know."

"I almost did before Fitz showed up," he admitted, his arms crossed over his t-shirt clad chest. "He was glowing red and about to blow. I promised you a long time ago that I wouldn't let anything happen to you and well, not letting hundreds of people die kind of comes with the job description," he told her.

"Have you killed a lot of people?" she wondered, turning to him. "That is part of the job description, right?"

Grant sighed. "I have killed people, bad people, people who wanted to kill a lot of good people. This isn't an easy job, Skye. I usually try to go for the knockout, and then we can take them in to get intel and then lock them up," he said.

"All that training has paid off, huh?" she tried to joke, but it was flat.

"I've had a lot more since I saw you last. I can speak a few new languages too," he said with a smile.

"Are you happy?" she wondered, staring up at him with her wide, doe eyes. "I mean, this is what you worked so hard for in the woods, to do this, right? Are you happy or would you have rather..." she couldn't finish.

Grant scratched the back of my head. "Don't ask me to answer that," he muttered honestly. "I, um, I came out to tell you that Coulson was really impressed with you during the mission. Helping us, getting us to Mike, hacking the system to give coordinates to find you, he thinks you're an asset," he told her. "God, when Mike took you I did everything I could not to fuck up the mission."

"I can handle myself, you know that," she reminded him. "Besides, from what I saw you kept your cool, so that training must be doing you some good."

He nodded. "I'm going to be honest with you, Coulson wants to add you to the team as a consultant," he informed her, causing her to blink several times up at him. "Like I said, he says you're good, and we could use your skills, and said you have the right to make the decision on your own."

"Do you want me here?" Skye asked. "And honesty is the theme of the week so stick with it."

"I told him I didn't think it was a good idea, he disagreed and said it was your decision," he answered. "He also said we ordered Chinese and you're welcome to join us. He's a bit odd, but I can't say I don't like him," he added on in a laugh.

"Why don't you want me here?" she continued on.

Grant looked her straight in the eyes. "You know why."

"Yeah, I guess," she mumbled, pushing hair away from her face.

"We have a new development," Coulson stated, walking up to them. "We have an 0-8-4."

"An- where?" Grant asked, becoming very work-serious about it all.

"A what?" Skye questioned.

"An unspecified, usually alien, object, like Thor's hammer," Grant answered quickly. "Are you sure, Sir?"

Coulson smiled. "They want us to go in and confirm it. Have you thought about our offer?" he asked Skye.

"To join the team? I'm not exactly a team player," she insisted.

"We're not exactly a team," Coulson countered. "But we have the opportunity to do some good and you'll have a front seat to the strangest show on Earth and that is what you wanted, isn't it?"

Skye couldn't help but smile. "I hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. from my van, are you telling me you can surprise me?"

"I'm telling you that you have less than ten minutes to decide per May's calculations," he replied before walking away towards the carrier just as a car pulled up. "Oh, good, the Chinese is here!" he exclaimed.

She laughed a little. He certainly marched to his own drum, didn't he?

"It's going to be dangerous, Skye," Grant told her, breaking her gaze. "You almost died helping us contain a good guy, a lot of these people we are going to do after are the bad guys and as much as I try to protect you you're probably going to get hurt," he went on. "If you say no you we can send a car to take you back to your van and with the promise you won't hack us again you can go on your way."

Skye nodded. "I could, but I won't," she responded and began walking towards the plane. "Come on, Ward, wheels up in about five minutes now. You wouldn't want to be left behind when we're going after an 8-0-4," she sing-songed as he trailed behind her.

"It's an 0-8-4," he corrected her.

"Whatever, how good is the Wi-Fi on this thing?" she wondered and Grant shook his head.

This job wasn't going to kill him, she was, and he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But he did know one thing, John Garrett could never figure out who Skye was, not if he was going to continue to protect her.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so here is the first chapter!<strong>

**From here on out is going to be less mission-specific and more the dynamics of the characters with missions mentioned. **

**How did I do? Let me know please! **

**- Kay**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you everyone! You're all amazing!  
>Thanks for the feedback and positive responses.<br>(Now if all of you who followed/faved reviewed I'd be over the moon!)**

**Sorry this took me so long!  
>I am a senior in college so I have a LOT of work to do.<br>Normal class stuff, graduation stuff, social life stuff, work stuff. It kind of blows.**

**Here is chapter 2! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>"Granty!" Skye's voice rang out across the campsite.<em>

_When there was no answer she sighed and quickly went to the small cabin he slept in. She had called it a shack once and heard a five minute lecture on how long it took to build and having pride in his work._

_It literally held his bed, a bathroom-type situation she refused to question, and a kitchenette. She had no idea how it didn't fall over when the wind blew too hard or it didn't let the rain in, but wasn't in the mood for a lecture on the dynamics of his beloved home._

_"Granty! There you are!" she exclaimed, barging in his shack to find him shaving with an old-fashioned razor blade, a bowl of water, and rickety mirror with cracks._

_He looked at her in the mirror. "Never call me that," he barked in a gruff voice._

_"How do you not cut yourself doing that?" she questioned, examining him closer._

_"Practice," he said as he leaned away. "What are you doing here this early?"_

_Skye rolled her eyes. "It's nice to see you too, friend. I'm fine, some bums tried to break into the van last night, but don't worry I kept 'em out," she informed him._

_Now he rolled his eyes. "I don't know how you live in that," he muttered._

_"Hey, don't knock it until you try it. It's kept me longer than most foster homes had," she told him grumpily before plopping down on his bed._

_He continued his close shave. "And I meant it's only noon, you're usually still sleeping by now-not that I didn't want you here," he corrected himself without looking at her. _

_She smiled at his words. It wasn't hard to figure out he wasn't good at showing his emotions, but he was usually pretty good with her. "Where's Buddy? I brought dog treats!" she said loudly, causing the K-9 to come trotting in with his ears perked. "Hey there boy, you're happy to see me, aren't ya?"_

_"Where did you get the dog treats?" Grant questioned, his eyebrows lifted in curiosity as he wiped his face._

_Skye stood to look him right in the eye. "I got a job, I will have you know, that is why I am up early," she stated. "I didn't steal them. I told you I don't like stealing."_

_"And this job is where?" he continued his inquisition and he leaned back on the counter with his arms folded._

_She rolled her eyes. "What are you, my boyfriend? Geez," she mumbled. "At the bowling alley in town. I was in there using the Wi-Fi and the owner came up and asked me if I had a life outside of my computer," she said._

_Grant chuckled. "And when you told him no?"_

_She ignored him. "He said that he needs someone to help out nights since his daughter got the nine month flu, if you know what I mean, and would pay me under the table," she told him. "Something about how if I am there so much I might as well make myself useful. Whatever. The point is I got a job where I am paid, like, every night so I can start saving up to buy new clothes, maybe a hotel room for a night to take a bath. It's the small things, you know," she went on._

_"Well, good. I'm proud of you, Skye," Grant insisted._

_"Oh my gosh, did Grant Ward just give me a compliment?" she asked, eyes wide._

_He rolled his eyes. "It was a comment," he corrected._

_"No, you totally gave me a compliment!" she laughed, poking at his stomach in an attempt to tickle him._

_"Stop," he said, pushing her arms away._

_"No, what are you gonna do?" she replied, poking at his sides now too and being sporadic with her movements._

_He tried to hide his smile. "Skye, stop," he tried to say sternly, but failed miserably._

_She continued to poke him until he physically pushed her down on the bed, himself on top to still her. "Grant! Get off of ME!" the last part was a squeal when he now began to tickle her. "Ah! Stop!" she laughed._

_"How does it feel, huh?" he questioned, his smile unable to be contained now._

_"Not good, ah!" she giggled, then screamed when there was a flash of light and a loud boom, signaling a thunderstorm approaching. "Oh my gosh, did you see that? That was close!" she breathed, clinging to him._

_Grant smiled a little more. "No, it wasn't. It's the end of summer, thunderstorms happen. It'll be fine, don't worry," he told her, his head directly above hers._

_"I-I don't like storms, I, um," Skye sat up, causing Grant to move to the side. "I should go to my van or," she stopped when another boom sounded before it began to pour down rain._

_"Skye, you're safe here, I promise," Grant told her, reaching for her hand. He had no idea what he was doing, but he knew she was scared and that was one feeling he didn't like seeing in her. She was usually so bubbly, excitable, fun-loving, slightly annoying, not scared. "Don't go out in the rain to sit in your van alone, hang out here with me and Buddy," he urged, bringing her to sit next to him._

_She was still unfocused, too worried about the storm. "I-I," she stuttered as she gripped his hand._

_"Hey, Skye." Grant hooked his finger under her chin to make her look at him. "You're staying here until the storm passes, alright? C'mon, we'll play cards and I got some snacks, it'll be fun."_

_She smiled weakly. "You know how to have fun?" she attempted to tease._

_"Around you I do," he said and rubbed her back as the thunder continued to rumble._

_"Never took you for a damsel in distress type of guy," she muttered quietly._

_"Skye, you're no damsel," he assured her. "You're just a little afraid of storms, its normal," he said with a shrug. "And we both know I have some weird soft spot for you."_

_She smiled softly. "Could have fooled me, you robot." She grabbed his hand again and squeezed. "Thank you though; I don't act like myself when storms roll through."_

_"I have no room to judge," he replied. "We all have our demons, me especially."_

_"I, um, was at this foster home when I was like five or so," she told him and he remained quiet. "And there was a thunderstorm and I was scared so I went to my foster parents bedroom, I don't know why, I didn't even like them really," she whispered. "And they didn't like me either, I was going back to St. Agnes in a few days and I knew it."_

_"They're idiots," Grant told her. "You're great. I don't like anyone and I like you."_

_Skye smiled. "Thanks, but um," she coughed as there was another flash of light. "They, uh, weren't happy I went into their room and Rich, the foster dad, got mad and told me to face my fear by living through it so he put me outside and locked the door behind me."_

_"What? You were five and he locked you outside in a thunderstorm because you were scared? He's a fuckin' asshole," Grant stated._

_"Ya, um, Barbara let me back in a while later, she didn't know he'd done it and heard me crying, but it's always stuck with me," Skye finished._

_Grant wrapped an arm her. "Like I said, fuck 'em," he insisted. "That shouldn't have happened to you. Parents are supposed to protect you, not do that, foster or not."_

_Skye leaned in to him. "You have parent problems too," she murmured. "What else would cause you to live in the woods only to be visited by a mysterious friend every few months?"_

_"Yeah, I do, I think unfortunately most of us do," he readily admitted, but that was all he was giving and she knew it._

_She pulled away. "So, um, cards, you said you had them or something?" she asked to change the subject._

_Grant scooted away quickly. "Uh, yeah, you know how to play spades?"_

Skye sat wide awake in her bunk watching the storm rage below them. May went on the comm late in the evening to say they were flying through a storm later and that there might be some turbulence due to the weather going on below, but was trying to avoid it.

She played with the silver bracelet that seemed to be permanently attached to her wrist. She'd done the rounds with apologies and everyone seemed to take it in stride, even Coulson after she'd told him her reasoning for joining the team. May was indifferent, but Grant had been downright cold most of the time.

He hadn't been the Grant she knew all those years ago since she'd gotten on the plane, but they'd at least been civil. At any mention of their past he'd changed the subject or said it was nothing when someone questioned it. They were just friends, he'd said, nothing more.

Just friends.

She sighed, an empty, hollow feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. It was a feeling she was used to when she was a kid with no home, no real friends, and absolutely no family. Grant had filled that space for a long time and it'd been nice, even when he'd gone there was still a piece of him with her in that space. Now she felt empty again and 'breaking up' with Miles didn't help (not that they were even together anymore, it was just one mistake because Grant had been being so cold), but it was her fault and she had to own up to it.

There had been moments when they were alone when she saw that flash of her old Grant again. The look of pure relief when he'd found her just in time at Ian Quinn's house. When she'd been out with him as he acted like Akela and had the backscatter glasses and she'd 'accidentally' tickled him. When he told her he couldn't protect her because he couldn't look at her she felt warmth fill her just for him to get out of the car without a word and not mention it again.

"You alright?"

Skye turned to find her S.O. standing at the door to her bunk, clad in black sleep pants and a white t-shirt. "What are you doing up?" she questioned.

"I only need about four hours a night, any more than that and I'm usually injured or had a rough day," he replied easily with a shrug.

"How robotic of you," she mentioned offhandedly, not bothering to look at him anymore.

He moved to sit on the bed. "When we reached the storm I got worried about you, I remember how you're not their biggest fan and thought I would check on you," he admitted.

"Not your problem, you're off the clock, right?" she countered and looked back to the window.

"Agent Ward is, Grant's not," he replied quietly.

"So you're Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde now? Nice to know, it'll be easier to try and pinpoint your moods," she said without moving.

"Skye, I'm- I'm shit with people, we both know that," he insisted.

She turned to look at him. "Just because you save people's lives doesn't give you the right to be a complete dick, even when they made a mistake like I did," she told him stiffly.

"C'mon, jumping out of a plane before putting on the parachute and saving Simmons just in time doesn't make me a little cool?" he tried to joke.

"Damn right it makes you cool," she agreed. "It also makes Fitz a little miffed, but it doesn't give you a free pass to be a dick."

"I'm," Grant began. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "And you know I don't say that easily."

"Yeah, even when it's deserved," Skye muttered. "And I apologized to you profusely for what I did in Texas. I made a mistake and I am owning up to it every day if you haven't noticed," she said and waved her wrist in his face. "I don't like what I did and I hate when he did. He cost a man his life and I-" she stopped. "You have to understand that Miles was there for me after you left," she told him, now facing him. "He taught me computer science; it was how I ran your face through databases, government surveillance, whatever I could to find you even though I wound up with nothing. All I knew was you were doing all that insane training for something and I had to guess what," she went on. "So yeah, when I met him I was a lot messed up and he helped me find a path, a path I thought he believed in too with-"

"I know, I know, freedom of information and all that. I listened to you in holding, I got the gist of his so-called beliefs," Grant interrupted.

"Yeah, well for me it was like I had known, loved, and trusted a stranger," she insisted. "Everyone else at least attempted to accept my apology, you just ignored me or made me do strength conditioning and shit and that was harder than everything else. I know I failed you by betraying the team, but you," she stopped.

"I what?" he urged.

She shook her head. "Nothing, you're off the clock and Grant is someone I have nothing to say to."

He stood and she thought he was going to leave, but instead he closed the door to her bunk and just about pulled his hair out. "Do you know how hard this is for me?" he demanded to know.

"Oh, how hard this is for you? I'm sorry, I thought I was the one that dropped everything to join this team, that is the newbie to all this weird stuff, that has to look at you every day while you play us off as just kids who knew each other for a little while and didn't mean anything," she replied. "And be quiet, everyone is sleeping!"

"Fitz could sleep through a nuclear war, Simmons thinks anything louder than a pin dropping is loud so she sleeps with earplugs she invented, Coulson is upstairs and May is in the cockpit, we're fine," he clued her in. "But you're right, we do have to look at each other every day, that's horrible," he said and she almost laughed.

"I'm sorry, am I not wearing enough make up for you? Or too much? You just let me know how I can help you deal with seeing my face, okay?" she told him.

"Be serious for another five minutes will you?" Grant responded. "It's not your face, it's you. I have to look at you and act like you're not important to me, which is slowly killing me, don't you get that?"

"Well, you're a damn good actor so I actually don't," she admitted.

"Skye," he sat down in front of her. "When I'm around you I think like I'm 21 again," he said quietly. "I have all my training, everything in me telling me that one life isn't worth the cost of many, to look at the situation at hand from every angle, to see the big picture, be the whole solution... but when I look at you," he trailed off and looked out the window to avoid eye contact. "I know that no matter how much training I have, no matter how much I understand my job and everything it entails, you are still my number one priority and I know I can't think like that so I try not to encourage my feelings."

"By being a dick," Skye summed up.

"Or robotic as you like to say," he agreed.

"Do you remember the night you found out I was afraid of storms?" she asked, looking back at the raging clouds below.

_When she woke there was no sound except the soft patter of rain on the roof and Buddy's snoring._

_She went to get up, but arms locked around her and pulled her closer. They must have fallen asleep together. They'd played cards, eaten chips, joked around, and Grant had even attempted a makeshift puppet show that ended in hysterics. He'd done anything he could to distract her from the monster storm going on all around them._

_She was eternally grateful; now she had a few good memories to go with all the bad when it came to storms. She remembered lying down as Grant told her some story, but that was it and she usually never slept when there was a storm._

_Grant's arms didn't want to let her go so she obliged. It had taken him some time to warm up to her, they'd been 'friends' for almost a month now and she was finding herself coming over to the campsite more and more. It was nice having a friend, but she wasn't stupid, there was something between them that neither of them would talk about._

_It was like taboo, but he wasn't good with feelings and she probably wasn't much better. The longest relationship she had was with her van-not exactly the best example._

_She rested back against him, not denying how comfortable cuddling with Grant was and surprised he even knew how to cuddle or that she did either for that matter. They were two of a kind but it was nice. Him, her, and Buddy seemed like they were forming some sort of weird little family and it was the first time she had an feeling like that whatsoever._

_Then it was ruined by Buddy sitting up at the end of the bed, sneezing loudly, and then jumping off to bark at the door._

_Grant jerked awake, pulling Skye almost underneath him as if she needed protecting._

_"Hey," Skye murmured, her fingertips resting on his cheek to catch his attention. He looked down at her. "Hi," she said awkwardly, now realizing their position and how intimate it could be._

_He didn't move. "Hi, um, sleep well?"_

_Skye smiled. "Very, actually."_

_He smiled too. "Do you know what time it is?" he wondered softly._

_"Time for Buddy to go out," she answered smartly and he nodded with a sigh before removing himself from the bed._

_She never noticed how small the bed was until he got up. It was a twin, but they both fit on it comfortably somehow. She snuggled back into the blankets, but was jostled when Grant came back and sat down where her legs bent as she curled up._

_"It's about two a.m. by the way," he said a moment later, then shook her leg when she didn't respond. "Hey." He moved to tickle her again, remembering that it was what got them in the situation to begin with, but didn't care._

_"Ah!" Skye squealed. "Don't do that when I'm sleepy!" she ordered, turning to face him._

_Grant smiled above her. "Oh so I can do it when you're awake?"_

_"Yeah, you can," she answered easily and his nose brushed against hers as Buddy barked from the outside, wanting back in._

_And just like that the moment was gone, but somehow she knew there would be more and that there was so much more to Grant Ward than he let show and she wanted to know all of him._

"Yeah," Grant replied.

"That night changed everything for us back then," Skye stated. "But especially for me. It was the first time in my life where I felt like I belonged somewhere and that was with you."

"I felt the same way," Grant assured her.

"And I was beginning to feel like I belonged here until I messed it up and then you outcasted me," she sighed. "But I can't say it's surprising, you didn't want me here in the first place."

He shook his head at her. "It wasn't because I didn't want you to be here, it's because with you around I can't do my job to the best of my ability. I told you that, you're my first priority-"

"Yeah, I heard you," Skye cut him off. "Why are you like this? Okay, I get you're robotic and shit with people, but the only time you act remotely human around me is when we're alone. I feel like we're in high school and I'm the geeky computer girl and you're the star of the team and you're ashamed to be seen with me in public," she explained.

"I don't know what to tell you," he said after a few moments. "I-I don't know how to act anymore. I can't act like we did when we were kids, I can't act normal, I am upset about what happened with Miles, but you have every right to be pissed off at me too. I'm just lost, I guess."

"We both know that you're upset with me for more than just betraying the team," she insisted.

Grant scratched the back of his head, not commenting on it. "Maybe we're going about this the wrong way," he offered.

"I don't think we've been going about this any way. I thought I was getting my best friend back and doing good by joining this team, but you've just-"

"I know," he cut her off. "I can't not act like I don't care about you, I can't stay mad at you, maybe we should stick to what we know," he suggested. "And be friends."

"You want to just be friends?" she asked. "Do you think we can do that, because before 'just friends' didn't last very long?"

"That's all we can do, Skye," Grant insisted. "I'm- we're not those kids anymore who can hide away in the woods and pretend that the world doesn't exist, even if I want to," he finished quietly.

"You probably shouldn't have told me that," Skye whispered.

"Probably not," he agreed. "But you've always had a weird effect on me, make me say and think things I shouldn't, things that aren't in my best interest," he finished.

"Do you ever stop talking like a robot?" she asked, trying not to smile.

He shrugged. "Ever stop talking like a geeky, computer science whiz, rookie?" he countered.

"Shut up, Robo," she ordered, returning to an old nickname from the woods.

"Make me, Rook," he said, butting her shoulder with his. "Alright, I know you and I know you around storms, you're not going to sleep until it calms down," he stated as he stood and held a hand out for her. "You need a distraction; I think Fitz found Battleship in one of the closets downstairs."

"You remember how good I am at board games, right?" she asked, accepting his hand. "And how good I am at reading you?"

"Don't start gloating now, you might regret it later."

She didn't regret it later.

-:-:-

"I'm sorry but if you broke into a Siberian prison wouldn't you like to know what that thing says?" Skye questioned as she paced in the little room Grant's bunk had to offer. His bunk, of course, was immaculate, while her's was a disaster zone, as Grant called it.

"I do know what it says, part of it anyways," Grant replied as he packed his sac. "You are the one not allowed to know."

They'd fallen back into their easy 'friendship' and everyone on the plane noticed, but no one commented. It was nice, like she did have her best friend back.

Skye sighed and looked at him. "Okay, I get they are sending you, but they are sending Fitz too? He's... Fitz, he's small and adorable, he couldn't even make it through those glass doors and you're sending him to wherever you're going?"

"He'll be fine, I'll protect him with my life," he assured her.

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about," she mumbled and collapsed on the bed. "You're just- we're a team, we usually do this together and I'm on the other end of your comm so I know you're okay and now," she stopped.

Grant picked up her feet and sat down on his bed too, then kept them in his lap. "Skye, like May said you're too used to how things work on the plane. We'll be back this time tomorrow and I'll have your ass in the shooting range making you not say 'bang' after every shot, alright?"

"I like saying 'bang' it makes it more cartoon-y," she mumbled before sitting up on her elbows. "I just got my best friend back and now they're sending you on super-secret mission with Fitz, it's not fair," she went on and as he was about to respond she continued again. "AND for all the talking-up the Hub got I think it sucks. This stupid bracelet wouldn't let me go anywhere except, like, a lounge, the bathrooms, and cafeteria."

"Hey, the food in the Hub is pretty great, especially compared to plane food. I'd take advantage of that," he replied. "Oh, and you have access to the gyms, you should definitely take advantage of that too."

Skye's eyes turned into slits. "Don't joke. I don't like this, Grant, I'm serious."

"So am I, trust the system and we'll be back tomorrow. Now I have to go talk to Coulson and May, but it won't take long because we have to go," he said as he stood, her legs falling off of him in the process.

Skye stayed in Grant's bed. There was something wrong with this super-secret mission he and Fitz were going on, she could sense it. And she was going to figure out what it was and if her stupid bracelet wasn't going to let her snoop around she was going to have to find someone who could.

As Jemma walked by carrying a sandwich on the way to Fitz's bunk she smiled.

Simmons had a Level 5 clearance and just as much worries as she did about this mission. After all their boys were going in there while leaving them in the dark, something she was sure Jemma didn't like either.

"You're not going to get into any trouble while I'm gone, are you?" Grant asked less than twenty minutes later as they stood by the vehicle he and Fitz were to take.

"Me?" Skye questioned. "None at all. I am going to hit the gym, and the cafeteria, and work on getting this stupid bracelet off of my wrist by being a good girl," she assured him with her fingers crossed behind her back.

Grant chuckled. "I'll pretend I believe that, or maybe I'll just wish that was true."

"You just be safe and worry about yourself," she insisted.

"Fine, fine," he said and pulled her into a quick hug.

"Promise you'll come back," she whispered into his shoulder.

"Promise you'll stay out of trouble," he countered and pulled away.

"Just be safe," she said and he nodded with a confident smile before getting in the jeep.

Skye stood back with Simmons as they watched the boys drive off.

"They'll be alright," Jemma said, but didn't sound too sure of herself.

"Yeah, about that..." Skye trailed off and smiled at her and Jemma instantly shook her head. "Oh, c'mon, I just need your help with one little thing."

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, so this took me a bit to write because I am in the middle of finals and Thanksgiving and blah.<strong>

**Sorry I skipped like 4 episodes, but they were too early-on for me and I really wanted to get past the Miles stuff.  
><strong>**Let me know what you think. **

**Grant and Fitz are on their mission and we all know what is after that...The Well and that is going to go much different than it did in the show!**  
><strong>Be excited.<strong>

**- Kay**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you everyone! You're the best!  
>Love you all.<strong>

**To reviewer labeled Guest:  
>This will not be a regular fic where it follows the storyline of the show with Grant being found out as HYDRA. Trust me.<br>I think you will get the hints of that from the beginning (and end) of this chapter.**

**As I said in the first chapter (or at the end of it) this story is going to have the missions in it, but moreso the aftermath/beforehand of it. I don't want to tell you guys what you already know about it all.**

**On with the next!**

* * *

><p>She was mad.<p>

Not because SHIELD purposely sent two people she deeply cared about in on a suicide mission with no extraction plan. (Well, she was mad about that, but ranting about it was getting her nowhere and everyone was sick of listening to her talk about it.)

Not because Ward had been waking her up at '0500' daily to do strength exercises like pushups, pull ups, lunges, and everything in between before combat training. Not because she had to nap in the afternoon because she was so tired after her morning, had to eat almost twice the amount of food, and do more work into the early evening like the shooting practice, torture resistance, and interrogation techniques.

She wasn't even mad that stupid bracelet still adorned her wrist. (But that was getting out of hand—last week it blocked her from Netflix. Netflix! You do not get in between a girl and her Netflix, especially when she's upset, that just isn't cool.)

She was mad because no matter how much training she did, no matter how much her body hurt (and it fucking_hurt_), no matter how much muscle she was gaining, within ten to fifteen minutes Ward or May had her ass on the mat and a gun or something else equally harmful to her head.

Ward had even taken to saying 'bang' when they reached that point just to piss her off, she knew it, and it wasn't okay.

She wasn't mad she had a black eye from training yesterday, she was mad she got the black eye because she didn't fucking duck and Ward's blow hit its mark fair and square. He apologized to the point where it was unbecoming of him and his personality and she'd defiantly grabbed a pint of ice cream before heading to her bunk and closing it loudly. He didn't dare tell her she wasn't allowed to have the ice cream, he knew better.

"Stop," she heard and turned to see Grant leaning against the doorjam, his arms crossed over his chest. "You know Thor isn't in the area right? We're just going out on a run-of-the-mill mission, clean-up duty is over now," he assured her.

"I'm not putting make up on because we just helped clean up Thor's mess and I deserve a personal thank you," she replied with a small smile. "I'm putting it on so I don't look abused."

"I said I was-"

"Don't," she cut him off. "It's my fault, I should know better by now."

"Skye, you've been at this for a couple weeks, the fact that you can go a few rounds with May means you're improving. Don't be so hard on yourself," he told her seriously, a caring look in his eye.

"You've always had a knack of this stuff, Grant. I mean you told me yourself the doctor said you were almost too-fit for the field and you've had the highest marks since the freakin' Black Widow, all I am good at is CS-"

"No, you're not," Grant cut her off. "You're great at whatever you're driven to do and you're amazing with people, Skye, that's important. You also heard my people skills report, it was a picture of a porcupine, SHIELD needs people like you," he went on and rested his hands on her forearms. "And you are learning, fast, especially since the Miles incident."

She shook her head and exited her room, brushing by him as she did. "I want this, I want to be a field agent, but I still have this stupid bracelet on and I still hit the mat before both of you," she reminded him.

"I bet if you went head to head with Coulson he'd hit the mat before you," he said and although she smiled it didn't change anything.

She needed to do better. "Can we do more training tonight? Not shooting or whatever, physical stuff."

"We do need to work on your stamina, so some night work might help," he agreed causing her to turn and raise an eyebrow. "Not, ugh, I mean the treadmill, Skye, not," he couldn't even finish.

She laughed and he shook his head at her. "Oh come on Ward, you know I have stamina," she teased.

"I know you used to, not so sure about now," he replied, a wicked gleam in his eye.

Before she could snap out of her shock Coulson came down from upstairs. "You ready?"

They both nodded and Grant added on a "yes, Sir."

She couldn't stop thinking about it, their innuendo on the plane before Coulson showed up.

He'd been doing that recently, saying things about their past when no one was around. Ward, not Coulson, of course.

It had something to do with not really, but kind of, almost dying on his super-secret mission with Fitz. The moment he set foot back on the bus Skye launched herself into his arms and didn't let go for probably five minutes.

No one had broken them apart or said anything, but instead just left them alone. Neither of them even said anything until they let go and it was a joke to break the ice. Then neither of them spoke about it again.

Skye listened as Ward spoke to Simmons over the comms as she climbed up the tree to investigate what exactly had happened and what had been taken. He was being nice, helpful, kind and it made her smile.

"Been different since you two began speaking normal, hasn't he?" Fitz questioned as he came to stand to her. Coulson, Simmons, and Ward went while Skye was told to stay behind in case they needed hacker help back in the plane, so she was at the holocomm with Fitz listening in on their findings.

"What?" she asked, laughing a little and awkwardly at that.

"Ward," Fitz stated. "He's been different, nicer, er, more approachable maybe," he went on. "I like him."

Skye smiled at the rocket scientist. "He likes you too, he's just not good at showing his feelings, never really has been."

"How long have you two known each other anyway? I mean, I know you knew one another, but not-"

"I was eighteen, he was twenty, we were inseparable for about a year," she cut him off quickly.

Fitz nodded. "So you knew each other well then?"

"Kinda like you and Simmons, only less science-tech and more... normal?" she laughed and so did he.

"You know why he's not-so-approachable then?" he continued his questioning. "Not that I think he's rude or-"

"No, he's rude sometimes," she agreed with him.

"But he's better with you around," he stated.

Skye smiled. "Thanks, it just takes some time for him to warm up and feel comfortable."

_He was not in a good mood._

_And that was saying a lot with him. His moods ranged from "warning, warning, do not even attempt" to "eh, engage if you must" and not much in between._

_When she came back the campsite from an afternoon shift at the bowling alley and found him chopping wood aggressively she knew it wasn't going to be good. He liked living outdoors, being on his own, providing for himself, but if there was one thing he wasn't fond of it was chopping wood. It was just one of those chores he didn't like doing, like how she hated all chores, kind of._

_"Hey," she greeted tentatively, petting Buddy who instantly ran for her when she was visible._

_Grant nodded curtly, but said nothing._

_Her presence at the campsite was a norm now, she ate most her meals with him, was becoming a poker champ because of him (something he was learning to regret teaching her), and even slept with him every night (only sleeping, in the same bed, together, cuddling—no big deal)._

_Grant was something, or someone, she had never had before—stability, and for that she was eternally grateful. She was learning to count on him, rely on him, and as scary as that was because she'd always been burned before she liked it. Somehow she knew she could count on him._

_There was the strange incident last week where he said his friend was visiting and she wasn't allowed back for two days, but that was his business. She hadn't exactly told him everything about her so it wasn't fair to expect more from him. And pushing him was not a good idea._

_"Everything okay?" she asked, trying not to get caught up in the fact that he was shirtless, sweating, and looked really nice chopping the wood._

_He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "No," he grunted as he chopped a log in half with a loud crack. "Should probably go back to the bowling alley until tonight," he added on._

_"Hey, hey, stop," she said, grabbing onto the ax before he could lift it again. "What's going on?"_

_"Nothing," he barked, taking a swig of his water. "I'm behind on this, gotta stock up for winter," he insisted._

_"It's barely September, I think you have time," she replied. "What's up? You were tossing and turning all night, acting weird this morning-"_

_"You don't have to be here, Skye," Grant cut her off, shaking his work gloves off. "I never asked you to-" he stopped and shook his head._

_Skye stepped closer. "You never asked me to what? Be here for you, well tough shit because you're stuck with me."_

_"Yeah, I'm getting that," he replied and sat down with his hands in his hair._

_She sat down next to him. "You can talk to me, Grant. I know we both have shitty pasts and don't like to talk about them, but- you're my best friend, the closest thing I have to family and- I won't judge you for anything you tell me," she told him quietly. "We both have skeletons in our closets."_

_"I'm not the guy you think I am, Skye," he admitted a few silent minutes later._

_She reached out for his hand. "Yes, you are," she insisted. "You're the guy who saved my ass the first day I met you. You're the guy who makes me laugh for hours, who hates to lose at cards and let's face it, you lose to me a lot," she said and he chuckled. "Grant, you're the only person who had ever tried to take care of me without being paid to by the state or wanted something in return. You have no idea how much that means to me."_

_"I like taking care of you," he said, but it was barely audible. "I have a lot of skeletons, Skye," he told her. "My family, they- and I-"_

_She reached over with her free hand to grab onto his chin and make him look at her. "Wanna know a secret about me first?" He just stared at her. "Might make it easier for you."_

_"I'm not going to make you tell me anything, Skye."_

_"My real name isn't Skye," she admitted and he raised an eyebrow. "My parents, they just dropped me off at an orphanage named St. Agnes, well it was just my mom I think. They told me it was a woman," she began. "They knew nothing about me, no history, no name, nothing. Most the kids there, they had some background to go off of, you know? I had nothing and so the nuns had to name me. Right now you're talking to Mary Sue Poots."_

_"I'm sorry about your parents," he replied. "And the name, it kinda sucks."_

_Skye laughed. Only he could make her laugh just then. "I thought so, that's why I changed it." They just looked at each other for a moment. "I play on my computer all the time because I'm learning how to break into things, cyberlly speaking. I'm going to figure out something about my parents and it will lead me to them. It's taking a little time because I'm learning on my own, but I'll get there," she said confidently._

_"I hope you do," Grant stated. "And I hope they regret giving you up because you're amazing."_

_"Thanks," she whispered, trying not to turn red._

_"My parents... they were respected, rich," he admitted a moment later. "It's always the families that look perfect on the outside that are the most broken, right?"_

_Skye just stayed quiet and waited for him to go on._

_"My older brother, he was cruel, he used to torture me and my little brother," he went on, but wouldn't look at her, so she dropped the hand that was cupping his cheek. "Sometimes he even made me torture Thomas. And I did it because I was so scared of him."_

_"Where were your parents?" she wondered._

_"Christian had to learn how to be a monster from somewhere," Grant commented nonchalantly. "I had an older sister too but she wasn't around, they sent her to an all-girls school. When she was around she was the picture perfect daughter, always polite, never putting her nose where it didn't belong. I didn't fight back against Christian until it was too late."_

_"What happened?" she urged him on, knowing he had to get it off his chest._

_"Thomas died," he croaked. "Because of something Christian made me do. I was too scared, I didn't want-" he stopped and squeezed his eyes shut. "I had a dream about it last night."_

_Skye pulled on his shoulder until he faced her and then hugged him. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, holding him tight, trying to provide some comfort. It took a few moments but he finally gave in._

_He didn't cry, but he did sniffle a little, and didn't pull away for quite a few minutes. The way he clung to her broke her heart, like he had never been hugged before. She never had much of a family but the nuns weren't horrible, they weren't the slapping of the knuckles kind, and some of the kids at the orphanage were okay. She ran her fingers through his hair, not caring that it was damp from sweat and said encouraging things into his ear every few moments._

_Then he pulled away and coughed before roughly rubbing at his eyes like there was something in them other than tears._

_"I became the problem child after that, I even got sent to military school when I was fourteen," he told her in a deep voice. "I was there until I was sixteen. I stole a car and drove it back home and tried to light my parent's house on fire. I didn't know my brother was inside, but I can't say I wouldn't have done it if I was aware," he mumbled. "It probably wasn't a good idea for my parents to send me to a school where I learned to defend myself and had to live with guys who had done much worse than me. They taught me a lot."_

_"Like how to hotwire a car?" she asked and he nodded._

_"I went to juvenile hall and my parents pressed charges, my brother petitioned to get me tried as an adult, it was hell. Then I got a visitor who said he could change my life and all I had to do was say yes," he went on._

_"Your friend that comes around," Skye pieced together. It was all beginning to make sense._

_Grant nodded. "He's teaching me how to survive, be my own man; he's been more of a father to me than my own."_

_"By leaving you in the woods by yourself, for what, four years now?" she questioned._

_"We have plans," he said. "That I can't talk about, but Skye," he looked over at her. "He saved my life, took me from that hell, I owe him so much."_

_She nodded, realizing that was a battle for another day. "For what it's worth I think you're pretty great."_

_"It's worth a lot," he murmured, squeezing her hand._

_Skye leaned forward so their foreheads were touching. "Good."_

_Grant looked from her mouth then back to her eyes before pressing their lips together._

_Even though she was surprised she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back. He was surprisingly gentle, something she probably wouldn't guess would be his style, but it was a good surprise._

_It was tentative at first, like they were just feeling each other out, literally._

_"I'm sorry," he said as they pulled away a quick moment later._

_"For what?" she asked, worried. She'd thought about kissing him a hundred times, was this just a spur of the moment thing for him?_

_At her expression he smiled and pushed hair behind her ear. "For taking so long to do that." He leaned in again and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "It won't happen again."_

_She smiled back at him now. "I can see that."_

_-:-:-_

"I just don't understand how these people found it," Skye muttered as she made her way through the creepy basement to look for the Berserker staff.

_"It doesn't matter, they have part of it and we have to keep them from getting the other parts,"_ Grant replied through the comms. _"See what I said about too much information in the wrong hands?"_ he added on so low Skye almost didn't hear it.

She bit her tongue from responding as Fitz spoke to Ward about his location. They were getting along now, he was her best friend, but he could still push all the right buttons.

_"Ward's comm went down!"_ Fitz said a few moments later. _"Skye-"_

"I'm already on it!" she exclaimed, practically running towards her S.O.. "Ward! Grant," she breathed in relief when she spotted him even if he was passed out on the ground. "Grant," she said, dropping to her knees.

He instantly sat up throwing punches, but because of her training she was able to dodge them. "Thomas- Thom," he gasped with wide eyes.

"Thom- Grant, its Skye," she tried to soothe.

He was breathing heavily and not himself, that was easy to tell. Plus the fact that he was thinking about Thomas was not good, at least for him.

"I found him, but I don't think he's alright. Simmons should look at him," Skye said as she looked at Grant and saw someone she didn't know. And if there was one person she thought she knew all the sides of it was him, even after all this time, so it scared her.

Grant had always had an edge to him. It had been apparent since the first time she met him, but she knew that. Honestly, that was fine with her, it was part of him. There wasn't many times she could recall when he wasn't on guard of some sort, always ready to protect her or himself.

But the Grant she saw yell at Fitz and Simmons and her back in the lab that was not the edge she remembered. That was just plain mean.

"Grant," she said while knocking on his bunk door.

It slammed open to reveal him dressed in work out gear. "What, more talking?" he questioned, trying to push past her.

"Hey!" she objected, pushing back and he stumbled in surprise. "Don't talk to me like that."

"Skye, stay away from me, okay?" he said through gritted teeth, but she ignored him and walked into his bunk, closing the door behind her. "I can't talk right now."

"You saw him when you touched it, didn't you?" she asked quietly, but made no reaction when she saw him literally shake with rage. "Thomas, you said it yourself when I found you," she reminded him.

"Skye," he practically growled, turning away from him in the small amount of space they had. "I need to punch something, I need to," he stopped. "I can't think about this right now."

"Okay," she responded and he turned in surprise. "You need to punch something, let's punch something."

Skye followed him to the lab and told FitzSimmons to scram so she could be alone with him as he put up the punching bag. She didn't even say a word for almost ten minutes while he beat the hell out of it and that was saying something for her.

"Feel better?" she asked when he stopped on his own to look up at her.

He shook his head. "No."

"I know what you saw," she stated, crossing her arms.

"Congratulations," he muttered before beginning to hit the bag again.

Skye held the bag still as he rammed his fits into it again and again. It jostled her due to his strength, but she held on, even if it felt like holding onto an earthquake.

As his punches began to dull in strength she dared to open her mouth, "It wasn't your fault."

Grant responded by landing a particularly nasty blow that caused her to lose her balance. "Skye, don't."

"Don't what?" she replied, moving to stand in front of the bag, stopping his punch midway. "Tell you the truth, what I've been telling you for years?" she continued, unfazed by his scary demeanor. "You may have deaths on your conscience, but his is not one of them, not in the way you think."

He turned away from her, his fists clenched. "I don't want to talk, I want to punish the guys who are out there hurting people," he grunted. "And while I am waiting for everyone to figure out where that is from the douchebag upstairs I plan on doing what I can."

"By punching things? Grant, that is the last thing you need right now," she insisted, reaching for his arm, but he snagged it out of her grasp.

"Don't," he ordered gruffly.

Determined she grabbed his shirt and tugged him to her. "Don't do this," she pleaded in a whisper, looking up into his eyes and took it as a good sign when he didn't pull away again. "I know what the professor said, that the Berserker warriors became enraged when they held the staff and gained the strength of ten men," she went on. "And you have more rage than the average man, so right now you're going crazy inside."

"So get out of my way and let me deal with it," he replied in a husky tone, eyeing the bag behind her.

"Grant, look at me," she whispered and it took a moment but he did it. "You need to tell Coulson you're feeling out of control. Now I don't know if you should take the sedative like Simmons wants-"

"I am not taking a sedative!" he exploded, but she barely reacted. "I have to be at full strength, I have to protect you," he insisted fiercely. "And the team."

"I don't know if you should take it," she repeated. "But punching a bag isn't going to get you anywhere. You need to get a grip on the rage and look at the task at hand—getting the staff out of the bad people's hands and into ours." He was breathing heavy, the rage in him fueling his bloodstream. "Grant, if there is anyone that can handle this and do good with it it's you, I truly believe that."

He huffed in response. "That's one of us. I told you a long time ago there is dark in me; you were the one who tried to look past it."

"I didn't try to, I did, I still do," she corrected him. "Now let's take that rage and focus it on what we're doing. You're going to tell Coulson how you feel and see what he says. We're going to see if we have any leads and you are going to keep that talented mouth shut while we do it so you don't hurt FitzSimmons's feelings anymore, alright?"

Grant looked her right in the eye. "Talented mouth?"

"What, you're the only one who can make something dirty?" she questioned, walking towards the stairs and held her hand out for him in a cue to come with.

With one look back at the punching bag Grant sighed and took her hand, trying to keep the rage buried the best he could and do as she asked.

"And you're showering, like now," she added on as they climbed the steps.

Only she could make him crack a smile just then, even if it was only for a millisecond. It still counted, it had to.

-:-

"Grant," she whispered as he fell over the balcony of the church with the staff in his hands.

It didn't help that he was getting his ass handed to him, probably because he was too consumed with memories of Thomas—the brother he tried to forget because it was easier that way. He tried to forget all of them, but especially Thomas, and the memory of his little brother drowning in a well as he watched helpless from above.

"We have to help him," she stated, running for the stairs before anyone could stop her.

She watched as he flung the man into the door and unconscious, a menacing look on his face.

"Grant, ba- stop, drop the staff," she practically begged, approaching him and he backed up from her.

"Skye, don't get any closer," she heard May say from behind, but ignored it. She didn't know Grant the way she did.

Grant looked at May. "Keep her away from me," he barked.

"No, this isn't you, remember that," Skye insisted as arms wrapped around her from behind and May held her back.

"Keep her back," he ordered as more men filed in and he bent down to grab onto the second part of the staff.

"No!" Skye exclaimed and struggled against May's hold, but it was useless.

She almost had to close her eyes as Grant battled every man in the church and won. It was heartbreaking.

"He's stronger than you think," May told her.

Skye turned on her. "I know exactly how strong he is. You don't know what he's seeing, I do, and it's not okay," she said through gritted teeth.

When the fighting stopped and Grant collapsed on the floor Skye finally broke free.

"Grant! Oh, my God, are you okay?" Skye breathed, putting his arm around her shoulder for strength. "It's okay, look at me," she went on and he rested his forehead against hers with a long sigh. "It's not your fault, you tried- it's okay," she went on, cupping his cheek and kissed his forehead.

Not a moment later there door burst open revealing an angry woman and Skye's gut plummeted. "You have got to be kidding me."

Grant couldn't hold those damn sticks again.

She reached forward and as if he was reading her mine he roughly grabbed onto her waist and pulled her back. "No," he stated in a growl and reached forward himself.

"Ward," May stopped his hand. "Let Skye help you," she muttered and nodded to the girl.

Skye nodded back and began to lead Grant away, grateful for May in that moment.

She wasn't stupid.

May and Ward had a lot in common, they were both lethal, specialists, people who could shut off their feelings.

At times she was jealous of May. She knew how to handle herself, rise above all the stupid shit and get stuff done. She was on the same level as Grant, easily, or maybe he was on the same level as her, whatever.

When they had turned to one another in the church, exchanging staff rage stories, Skye felt jealousy. Now they had more in common, they were both Berserker warriors too.

She came to realize that Ward needed people like May, people he could share his lethal ways with, but Grant needed her, someone he couldn't hide his emotions from. She was beginning to learn that Grant and Ward were two different people, he really was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but she was learning to handle it.

"I could get used to turn down service and mints on my pillow," Skye stated as she approached Grant at the bar. She gave him some time alone, knowing he needed it, before seeking him out.

He forced a smile over his glass. "Don't get used to it, overnights aren't standard," he said before taking a long swig.

"Well, we could all use a nice night, especially you," she insisted, searching his eyes for the softer Grant she knew in the woods.

"I'm sorry," he apologized quietly. "I know I need to say that to FitzSimmons too, but- you know I'm not that guy, thank you for not getting pissed."

"You save lives every day, Grant, I think they will overlook a little Hulk rage," she assured him. "I know I can."

"They might not let everything roll off their backs like you do," he mumbled.

Skye shrugged. "I don't know, Fitz is beginning to kinda of idolize you and Simmons herself has said you're not bad on the eyes," she mentioned with a sly smile. "Can't say I blame her."

"He needs to find better role models," Grant grunted.

"I don't know, I think the one he's got isn't half bad," she insisted and he responded by finishing off his drink and motioned for another one from the bartender. "Grant, I know you need to talk," she whispered. "You know my shoulders free and my room number."

He took the drink from the man and took a quick sip. "I think I'm just gonna go to bed, I'm beat," he sighed as he stood and dropped money on the bar.

"Grant," she tried to stop him but he was already walking out of the bar.

She returned to her room and got ready for bed. If she went to his room to make him talk nothing would come of it. He probably wouldn't even answer the door. Turning to her had to be his decision.

Just as she was about to hit the light and get under the covers where she knew she would be getting little sleep because she would be worrying about Grant, there was a knock on her door.

She didn't even bother to look through the peephole, but she should have since she was only wearing a pair of panties and an old shirt of Grant's from the campsite days.

She opened it to reveal Grant, whose eyes looked her up and down before walking in and closing the door behind him.

"I can't talk, Skye," he choked out, his hands settling on her waist. "But I need-" he stopped and rested his forehead on hers.

Skye nodded and pushed his leather jacket off. "Okay."

No longer did the word spill from her lips than they were attached to his.

* * *

><p><strong>Whew, okay, this was a big one!<strong>  
><strong>So what you think happened at the end there happened, if you know what I mean, and will be expanded upon in the next chapter.<strong>

**What do you guys think? **  
><strong>Anything you want to see particularly? If it's feasible I can try to work it in. <strong>

**Review please!**

**- Kay**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much everyone, you all make my day with your kind words and love! Muah!**

**To Serenity Shadowstar: Are you able to read my mind? Stop knowing what I am planning on doing(ish).  
>No telling!<strong>

**#TRIPLIVES  
>(he WILL be in this story, just not yet!)<br>(and hopefully now that Skye shot Ward he'll get his head on straight and pick SHIELD officially and do good)**

**I hope everyone has a good holiday! **

**Chapter 4**

* * *

><p>Nine hours.<p>

That was how long Grant had been sleeping, give or take a half an hour. She wasn't that neurotic that she'd counted the exact number of hours he was sleeping.

It would be nice to joke that it was because she was _just that good_but she knew better. Well, she _was_ good, but it was the aftermath of the Berserker staff. He'd all but collapsed on her after they'd finished. He stayed there until she was sure he was in a deep sleep so she could move out from underneath without disturbing him.

When he woke up he'd apologize; he'd feel bad for thinking he took something from her, for using her, and so she wished he'd stay asleep. He owed her no explanation, no apology, and his attempts at it would ruin the night before, she knew it.

Her thumb wiped over his hairline and back again as she listened to his even breathing of in and out, letting it soothe herself. The only time he looked peaceful, content, and even unguarded was when he was sleeping. That hadn't changed about him.

His arm was stretched around her, keeping her body in place as if he was worried she would leave while he slept. Even in his unconscious state he was protecting her in some way, he'd always be her same old Grant underneath it all.

Her fingers drifted down to his shoulder and noticed the light scaring. Stab wound, probably from some sort of torture or fight. He was lucky SHIELD had advanced medical techniques or his body would look at lot worse, she guessed.

The fact that it was just normal for his job, to undergo torture and regular bullet wounds and other things of the sort, was hard to stomach but so like him. And she was training to be just like them so hopefully it was like her too. Soon he would have to teach her how to undergo pain like that. Just something else to look forward to.

His whole body was different—tighter, leaner, more defined, and there were subtle scars everywhere, light, healed lines that she didn't want to question. She suspected May's body was similar, of course. May would be more like him than she ever could, even with her training, after all May was The Calvary—whatever that meant, she still didn't know the reason behind the nickname.

Suddenly his eyes fluttered open and he sat up to look around, like he was analyzing his surroundings.

"Hey there," she whispered with a smile, reaching for his hand to let him know it was alright.

"Time?" he questioned, blinking repeatedly as he laid back down.

"Almost noon and good morning to you too."

He groaned before moving to stretch, ignoring her comment. "I haven't slept until noon since... I don't know," he mumbled. "Probably since the wood days with you."

She smiled, but didn't comment on that. "How do you feel?" she asked hesitantly a moment later.

He let out a long sigh and it was as if he was calculating something. "I've felt worse, I'll be alright."

After a few moments he turned to her and just as he opened his mouth she cut him off, "Don't." He blinked in response. "Don't say you're sorry or try to take some sort of responsibility for what we did, I wanted it just as much as you did. If I had said no you wouldn't be here right now."

"Skye..."

"Please don't ruin it," she murmured. "Grant, for as long as I've known you, been with you, whatever, I've always needed you or depended on you more than you did me. You never minded it, but it was nice to have you need me more for once," she told him quietly. "It was really nice."

"I've always needed you, Skye," he replied honestly and got up onto his elbow. "I don't want you to think that you've needed me more than I needed you, it's not like that. That's not how our relationship has been."

It wasn't true, but it also wasn't something she wanted to argue about, so instead she cupped his cheek. "I know you couldn't stop seeing it after the staff made you remember, what happened at the well. I know you needed me to block out the memories, to be able to lock them back up, to feel something other than rage."

Grant rested his hand on hers.

"I'm fine with that, Grant, as long as it helped you," she insisted. "And I mean, it wasn't like I didn't enjoy it."

He cracked a half-smile. "What happened to Thomas is my worst memory," he admitted. "And I couldn't stop seeing it, you're right, but I didn't use you to stop seeing it," he said. "Being with you are some of my best memories and-" he stopped

"You're my best memories too," Skye whispered.

"But with this job I can't think of myself," he continued. "I have to think of others first so I locked away the memories of you too, some of them at least. So the staff may have 'shined a light in my dark place' or whatever to make me remember Thomas," he told her. "But being with you let me remember how we were and that wanting something for me can be good too."

"You do need things for yourself. I know this job is hard, I want to do it too so I am learning that every day, but you need to do things for yourself or you'll forget what you're fighting for," she told him quietly.

He moved closer to rest his forehead on hers. "I know exactly what I'm fighting for."

Skye smiled. "I forgot how corny you can be during pillow talk," she teased.

Grant chuckled. "I forgot how you give things weird names like pillow talk," he returned as his eyes slid closed.

"Oh shut up, you used to find it endearing," she replied with a faux frown.

One eye cracked open. "Who said I don't still find it endearing?"

_Something had shifted the moment he kissed her._

_Things had changed between them, but in a good way, in a way that made her feel closer to him. She'd never had that bond before, the bond where you felt close with someone, incredibly close, and to have it with Grant was indescribable. She'd had boyfriends before, but it never felt like it did with Grant._

_Before they began 'dating' (they had yet to actually label anything, but it wasn't like he was having nature girls over the campsite so they were exclusive) she usually woke up alone in their bed._

_Grant was up with the sun, no alarm clock needed. He would work out, get some chores out of the way like collecting water, cutting up whatever he'd caught the day before (because honestly it disgusted her to watch) or do simple things like stack wood.__One morning she woke up to find he'd cleared some room for her things if she wanted to keep it there (her stuff was laying all around anyways). A nail had also been added next to the door to hold her purse and van keys. He'd asked her to move in with gestures rather than words, and since neither of them were great with their words the gestures were just fine with her.__When she went to head to work one day she noticed the gas tank in the van had been full and a lunch sitting on the front seat. He'd gone into town before she woke and went food shopping, made her a lunch, and filled up her gas tank just because._

_No one had ever done such things for her without asking, ever. __For coming off as such a hard guy he was exceptionally sweet, but only with her._

_She'd watched him out in public when others were around and he was cold, off-putting, unapproachable. Girls would smile and giggle only to turn away after he unintentionally glared (that was just how his face looked most times). When the guys at the bowling alley joked with her in a crude way (and she went along with it for tips) and he'd witnessed it she worried he might break out some ninja kills, but he'd kept himself in check after a pointed look from her. He was different with her for some reason, a reason she didn't quite understand yet._

_After they'd gotten 'together' she didn't wake up alone nearly as much. He would still wake up at the crack of dawn, but he'd get up to do things and return to bed or sometimes he would just stay with her until she woke. Or she'd wake to breakfast being made. He was so giving it made her insides feel like jelly._

_"Mm, morning," she murmured when his face nuzzled her neck. That was her wake up call, meaning he was sick of laying there, not that she blamed him. They were reaching a happy(ish) medium with him waking up later than normal for him and her waking up earlier than she was used to._

_His arm slipped around her tank top clad waist. "Morning," he returned in between light kisses to the nape of her neck._

_"It's raining," she commented, noticing the pitter-pat above them._

_"Yeah, I let you sleep in a bit," he replied, running a hand up and down her bare thing. Now that they'd pushed past the friend barrier her usual nightwear turned into a tank top and panties. "It's not supposed to storm, I checked the radio to make sure."_

_Skye smiled and scooted closer to him and shifted to her back. "You're just a big teddy bear, Grant Douglas Ward," she accused jokingly, her fingers grazing his cheek._

_"You have a horrible power over me," he agreed in a sigh, leaning into her hand._

_"I think it's called...what's the word again," she pretended to think. "Oh, boobs."_

_Grant chuckled. "You had boobs before and I was able to resist for the most part," he insisted._

_"Yeah, but now that you have free reign to touch them you're just totally under my spell."_

_"Oh, is that the deal now, I have free reign?" he asked, suddenly interested._

_Skye giggled. "Well I wouldn't dive right in there, I would like a little play first, you know, but yes."_

_"Well then," he began and got on his knees above her and started to tickle her._

_"Hey! I didn't mean that kind of play!" she accused, attempting to push him away._

_He continued anyway until he had her pinned to the bed, but he let it take longer than necessary. During their little match her tank slipped, revealing exactly where he planned to move to next. "I see they like me too," he said with a grin._

_"Yeah, well, it goes both ways, there buddy," Skye countered and matched his grin as her shin came up to brush against his own excitement._

_Before either of them could continue the chocolate lab trotted up and barked._

_Grant rolled his eyes. "What did I say about using the term 'buddy' in your vocabulary other than speaking to him? He always answers to it no matter the use," he groaned._

_"You're the one who named your dog Buddy!" she reminded him._

_"Uh, not really, he was given to me," he replied matter-of-factly._

_"Well, either way I don't think we can play, the kid feels ignored, so put 'Vlad the Impaler' there back in its castle."_

_Grant broke down laughing, hard enough that he fell onto the bed next to her. "Vlad the- what? Where do you come up with this stuff?"_

_"Hey, I put a lot of effort into that nickname!" she exclaimed, unable to keep from laughing a little herself._

_"If it's impaling you I don't think I'm doing it right," he said, the grin never leaving his face._

_"Well maybe you've just never done it right," she replied and licked her lips._

_"I'll show you how it's done right," he insisted with wagged eyebrows._

_They had yet to have sex, obviously, but it was going to happen soon, she could sense it somehow. That and she didn't know how much longer either of them could 'take it slow.' They agreed not to rush into anything but neither of them were virgins so there wasn't much holding them back._

_"I certainly hope so," she whispered. "And by the way, it was either that or 'Womb Raider.' Get it, like Tomb Raider?" she giggled some more._

_Grant doubled over again and this time he didn't stop for a while._

"You were good today," Skye mentioned after sight-seeing with FitzSimmons the day before they were to leave Dublin. The two went on for a whole day about how they always go these exotic places and never get to see anything and she couldn't help but agree so they took advantage of the situation.

Coulson ordered some rest time because of May and Ward's contact with the Berserker staff. Something about getting their head's on straight before returning to duty and Skye agreed even if Ward insisted he was ready to get back into the game. Coulson took her side and while she handled Ward he dealt with May, in what way she didn't want to know.

"I tried," Grant mumbled and fell back onto the bed. They had pretty much set up camp in Skye's room to the point where he checked out of his own.

Skye put her hair up in a messy bun. "You did good," she assured him. "I know with the after-effects of the staff you're on edge and FitzSimmons can be somewhat know-it-all like, especially when looking at ancient relics and in museums, but you bit your tongue. I appreciate it," she went on.

Grant's eyes found her. "I like them too, Skye, it was a little exhausting, but," he stopped and shrugged. "When you said you wanted to go I really didn't have a choice anyways."

"What? Yeah you did, you could have stayed behind, do some man yoga, work out to the _Rocky_ theme, practice your blue steel impersonation in the mirror," she told him.

He let out a quick laugh. "What exactly do you think I do in my free time?"

"Work out, shooting practice, surf guns and ammo websites, watch the _Jason Bourne_ movies over and over again," she listed off with a shrug.

"I probably would do that, if I had much free time," he sighed. "I usually have to read tactical plans and backgrounds on whatever mission I am going on, and working out is kind of necessary to remain an equipped specialist," he mumbled on.

She sat down on the bed and cupped his cheek. "You're still feeling it, aren't you? Burnt out?" she questioned. He didn't answer. "Grant, you've slept about eight hours a night since we got here and I know it's only been two days but that is like way more hours than you're used to. Do you want me to talk to Coulson, because if May is feeling the same-"

"No," he cut her off. "If we were made today I would've had no problem protecting you. It's not that I'm tired or burnt out, alright?"

"Then what is it?" she wondered, ignoring his biting tone, it was something she was used to. "Look, I know you're my S.O. and in charge, but when you're not Agent Ward you're Grant, and I have some say over him. I can't help you if you don't tell me what is going on," she ended in almost a whisper.

He let out a long breath. "It's not my body, Skye. It's the... the rage," he admitted. "It eats at me, wanting to get out somehow, but I have to push it down, that's all. It's tiring being _good_ and well-behaved."

Skye ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry."

He leaned into her hand. "Don't be sorry, I'm just ready to get on with the next mission and honestly, hopefully beat the hell out of somebody," he mumbled.

"I know something else that might help you out," she replied before moving to straddle this waist. "Personally, I find it a lot more fun than beating people up."

He sat up on his elbows. "I like your solution much better than mine."

Grant was a bit domineering in bed, always had been, and surprising enough it was something she preferred. Of course, she only knew she preferred it after being with him. In the time since they were apart she learned he only became more dominant in bed, but she suspected that also had to do with the Berserker staff. Then again, it surprised her how much she still seriously _enjoyed_ it.

It was odd, for her, since she didn't like being controlled in life—she was a self-proclaimed hacktivist who leaked information into the general public because she believed in the freedom of it all. So liking the lack of freedom in bed felt contradicting, but she also didn't care. She was in bed with Grant and she didn't know when she would get to do that again, if ever.

"You should get a tattoo, Agent Ward," Skye stated some time later.

"Not a fan and I don't like when you call me Agent Ward," he responded simply, his eyes closed as he lay on his side next to her as she was on her back. His arm was securely wrapped around his waist while his other was under her pillow, propping her up a little.

He was tired, she knew it, but he also was having trouble falling asleep. She found talking incessantly caused him to nod off, whether he knew it or not.

"Why not?" she replied, doodling nonsense on the arm that was wrapped around her waist.

"I have enough permanent marks on my body, I don't need others."

Well didn't he take the fun out of everything? "Tattoos are hott though, damn hott," she insisted. "Scars can be too," she went on, her eyes flicking over to him. His eyes slid open to meet hers. "Shows you're a fighter, tough, a badass, girls dig that."

"I assume that getting a tattoo would be a better experience than getting a scar," he mumbled as his arm tightened around her. She nodded slightly, bumping noses with him. "What do you think I should get? You had a reason for bringing it up."

She grinned this time. He knew her far too well. "Well, you should get it on your penis-" she stopped when he let out a loud laugh.

"Not a chance, babe."

"And it should say," she continued. "'Surprise! I'm a cuddler', because you totally are Ward, admit it."

"Hmm, just with you, you have a hold on me, so I don't think so," he breathed with his eyes closed again.

"So there have been others?" she asked in a casual voice.

His eyes crept open. "Skye..." he sighed.

"I was just wondering, it's not like I want a number," she said in an overly high voice.

He smiled a little. "No relationships, no dating, but there have been one night stands or friends with benefits type deals," he answered honestly. "Just a few."

"Well, you know about Miles, and that's the main thing I have to share, but there have been a few guys I've dated and it never went anywhere that I did sleep with," she responded.

Grant twisted a piece of her hair into his fingers. "What happened with him, Miles? You had a long-term relationship with him, right? You don't have to be trained to see he still had feelings for you."

"He got sick of being compared to you," she answered easily. "I never did it overtly or even vocally, but he knew." He nodded. "He taught me a lot about CS, almost everything, and even got upset when I was better at something than him."

"I know the feeling," he muttered, rubbing circles on her bare hip.

Skye chuckled. "We were happy for a while, but as I got better at CS and began to look for more than my parents he wasn't happy. It didn't last long after that."

Grant looked her in the eyes. "I've had to seduce three women for the job."

He was ashamed, she could see it. "I know from experience that it probably went well and they enjoyed themselves," she tried to lighten the mood.

"Skye..."

"Grant, it's the job, the job you're wholeheartedly dedicated to, you did what you had to," she stated.

"When you become a specialist there is this list of the things you'll have to do and you have to sign off with little fuss about it," he explained. "For some, it can be crossed off, if you're married or something of the sort."

"You didn't cross it off?" she questioned, but knew the answer.

He rested his forehead on hers. "I didn't have a reason to before."

"And now?" She immediately regretted the words as they came from her mouth. She wasn't ready for that talk yet.

They were both quiet for a few moments. The long, sorrowful look in his eye was enough. He wasn't ready for the talk yet either.

"I know," she told him, tracing the lines of his face. "I am in training and Coulson gave me a lot of material to read. We're not allowed to fraternize because we're a team that's always together or something, it's not like how you get one mission at a time and live near HQ when you're just a specialist like before," she rattled off. "If we have a relationship then one of us has to get reassigned and I don't think anyone else is going to take the work-study type situation I am in and they need you here more than me. You are a specialist after all."

He nodded. "So much for wanting something for myself," he sighed, rolling onto his back.

"Hey," she took her finger to his cheek and made him look at her. "We still have Ireland, okay? We're here until early afternoon, let's hold onto it."

"Why- I have nothing to offer you, Skye, why do you stay?" he wondered quietly. "I know you're training, but you're- and Coulson loves you, but-"

"You're my best friend, Grant, I can't leave you hanging," she insisted, trying to be chipper.

Grant licked his lips. "I don't think we can ever- you know I can't-"

"Stop," she cut him off. "Don't say things you don't want to."

"I'm saying things I have to, Skye. I don't want you to hold onto things that you shouldn't," he went on, his voice strained. "I'm almost thirty; a lot of specialists don't make it to forty or so unless they change positions or, I don't know, teach at the academy. I don't want to do that Skye, I like being out there, in the field, making a difference the best way I know how."

"Grant, stop," she whispered, sitting up with the sheet over her chest. "Don't say all this shit to make me not- you're dedicated to the job, I get it, stop rubbing it in."

"No, Skye, you have to _see_," he said and sat up too with his hand rubbing over her bare back. "I'm not who you remember me to be, I'm different even if some parts of me are the same, I am different. I've done things- am doing things that if you knew..." She looked over her shoulder at him. "You would hate me and I couldn't take it if we continued this and I-"

"I won't hate you, Grant, it's your job, I understand what you have to do," she insisted again.

"No, you don't," he practically choked out. "I want to tell you everything but I can't. You have a strong power over me, baby, but thank God it's not that strong," he murmured, cupping her cheek.

She took his hand in hers. "You're my best friend, Grant, my family." His forehead dropped to meet hers. "There isn't much you can do that will make me not want to fight for you. You may have changed and developed an alter ego in Agent Ward, but the parts of you that are still my Grant—those are the parts that matter the most. You're not getting rid of me by making some ridiculous speech about how you might die, that's stupid because you won't, so shut up."

"No matter what happens I am going to keep you safe, I promise," he swore in a low, guttural tone.

"I know that," she assured him. "What I am more worried about is how we are going to do this next mission with absolutely no sleep," she confessed with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Well that," he began as he kissed the tip of her nose. "That can be one of the next parts of your training—working on little sleep. Often when on a covert mission and especially when captured by the enemy sleep can be a luxury, so learning to work on little of it is a good thing-"

"Robo, shut up," she said in a laugh. "You can be my S.O. tomorrow when I'm bitchy and sleepy, right now I need you to be- ah!" she yelped when Grant flipped so she was on her back and got on top of her. "That's more like it."

The specialist looked over her bare body before returning to her eyes. "I meant what I said, I don't think we can..." he trailed off. "But I'm going to keep you safe; your life is worth more than mine, so much more. You're _good_ Skye."

Skye struggled to sit up, but he had her pinned to the bed. Why did she like that again? Oh yeah, it was sexy, fuck. "Grant-"

"No talking," he barked.

She had to talk to him, tell him he was so much better than what he thought of himself, but orders were orders, she was learning that in her training, right? And there would be time for that later but right then they only had a few more hours until they had to go back to normal life. And while she had Grant on top of her she was going to take advantage of it, or rather, let him take advantage of it.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter fought me tooth and nail the whole way through.<br>Can you tell? I can. Ugh. Sorry.**

**I feel like I am making Grant kind of a pansy, but it's just when he is alone with Skye, I promise!  
>She has power over him :p he's still our robotic asshole outside of hotel rooms.<strong>

**Alright...up next: Seeds and TRACKS and we know what that means.  
>How will Grant react to the clairvoyant having Skye shot? Much different than in the show!<strong>

**Think of reviews as presents to me and this cuteness as a present to you for the holidays, yeah?  
>Haha, have a good one folks.<strong>

**- Kay**


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